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Jim McElwain’s Deception Offense

Oliver Connolly, SEC Country. McElwain is among the best offensive teachers in all of football, and what’s interesting is the contrast in how he discusses his offense and how it looks on the field. Off the field, he uses that simplistic language in place of more difficult concepts, yet on the field he masks simple concepts with detail and window dressing to generate mismatches and force defensive communication.

Deception may be the best way to describe McElwain’s brand of football. All he needs is six weeks with a drug-free quarterback.

As for alignments, the Gators execute run plays out of a pistol formation to conceal the running back for longer than if he were lined up next to the quarterback.

McElwain will motion the TE or H-back to disguise the inside-zone run, overload one side of the defensive front, or create a mismatch.

Florida will also use multiple shifts to force a defense into the play the QB would normally call in an audible.